Part 2 (1/2)

”Nope, it's not supposed to rain,” said Jon as he removed the front wheel of the stroller so he could fit it into the back of the bus.

The last thing we packed before leaving was the comfort bag. Each child used a different stuffed animal or blanket to help them fall asleep. Alexis had her pink blankie. Leah and Aaden had their chewies-burp cloths they had become attached to. Joel had a stuffed dog with a colorful sweater that he named Doggy Man. Collin had Ducky or Bear (”Bay-uh”), a stuffed animal/blanket combination, and Hannah had one of two stuffed toys, either Bunny or Kitty-Cat. We packed them all in a blue nylon Enfamil bag and took it wherever we went.

Packing that bag seems simple, but it wasn't. Since they slept with their comfort items, we couldn't pack them until right before we left. If I set the bag down, the kids would find their comfort item, take it out, and I wouldn't notice until it was too late.

As Jon put the kids in the car, I counted the comfort items one last time to make sure they were all there. I wasn't going to let anything ruin this trip.

Heading down the highway, I could see it was still overcast. ”You're sure it's not supposed to rain?” I asked Jon again.

”Nope, they said it was not going to rain.”

I wanted to believe him, but forty miles into the drive, the sky darkened ominously.

”Tell me it is not going to rain.”

”Kate, it is not going to rain. They said it wasn't going to rain.”

Two hours into the drive, the unthinkable happened. It started to rain.

”Jon, it's raining! Now what do we do?”

”What do you want to do?”

I hoped and prayed it wasn't raining at the zoo. We had spent so long researching this trip, packing the van, and getting the kids' hopes up; I couldn't see turning around when maybe it would all blow over.

”Let's keep going.”

An hour later, we pulled into the parking lot of the National Zoo, and it was still raining.

”Now what?” Jon asked.

It was pouring at this point. ”Let's just make the best of it. If we see three animals and then leave, at least we saw three animals.”

We parked and unloaded that huge stroller, which of course meant standing in the rain while we attached the front wheel. When we unloaded the kids, I tried not to make a big deal out of the rain because I didn't want them to get upset. After all, it is just water.

Jon raced to the entrance with the stroller, avoiding the deepest puddles. I ran behind, trying not to get hit with the spray. No question about it-we were going to get wet. ”Jon, when we get inside let's see if we can buy some of those rain ponchos.” I was determined to help the kids have the best time possible. We took cover in the first shop we saw. ”Do you sell rain ponchos?” I asked the girl behind the counter.

”I'm sorry, we're all out. We sold the last one about twenty minutes ago.”

My kids in trash bags. What a sight, huh?

It was probably a good thing. I was willing to spend the money, but we couldn't have afforded ten anyway. Then I had an idea. In front of us was a food vendor huddling under his hut to keep dry.

”Excuse me, do you have a roll of trash bags?”

”Uh, yeah. Why?”

”Could you give me ten of them? I'll pay you.”

”No, lady, you can just take them,” he said as he tore off ten plastic bags.

Growing up, my grandma had taught me a trick; if you poke head and armholes into the trash bag, it's almost like having a rain poncho. One by one, Jon and I dressed each of the kids into a clear trash bag and tucked it around them. Then Jon and I put ours on. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it helped. All morning we had walked around in trash bags and hid under trees and shelters. We spent a long time watching the elephants because they were indoors. We knew we looked ridiculous, but we didn't care. We wanted our kids to experience the zoo like kids in normal-sized families did.

But I had forgotten again that we weren't a normal family. Our first shows had aired and people were starting to recognize us from TV. With the size of our group and our trash-bag ponchos we weren't exactly inconspicuous. Jon noticed people were staring. As word traveled around the zoo, we began to see people taking pictures-not of the animals-but of us. By the time we got to the panda exhibit (a rare display; most zoos in America don't have pandas) we found more people staring and taking pictures of our family than of the pandas! It's actually quite uncomfortable to be in a zoo and find people treating you like the exhibit. I imagined the conversations around us: ”Mom, after we see the pandas, can we go see that TV family in the trash bags?” I started to sympathize with the animals.

By lunchtime, we'd had enough and we headed to the parking lot. Back in the van, we stripped wet clothes off the kids and put on dry outfits from the stash in the van. Jon took his wet s.h.i.+rt off and thought he had an extra clean one. But when he pulled it out of his backpack, he discovered something had spilled on it. We distributed the lunches and took off for the long drive home-with Jon driving s.h.i.+rtless.

Just outside of Was.h.i.+ngton, I yelled at Jon to stop. ”Look! There's an organic grocery store.” I was always searching for organic foods and there weren't organic stores near us. The kids were dry and happy and Jon was fine with stopping. I think the fact that there was a Starbucks across the street didn't hurt either.

”Go in and see what you can find,” he said. ”When you get back, I'll throw my jacket on and run across the street and get us each a coffee.” The rain had subsided a bit, but I was still wet and the coffee sounded good (but when doesn't it sound good to me?).

”I'll be right back!” I was only in the store ten minutes, but as I came out the door I could see it was raining harder. On my way to the van, I noticed something disturbing; no one was in the driver's seat! My first thought was that Jon was in the back with the kids, but as I rounded the corner I saw Jon standing in the parking lot, drenched! He had a horrified expression on his face.

”What's wrong?”

”Look!” he said and opened the van door.

The smell hit before I saw it. Vomit. Vomit on Alexis who was in her seat and crying hysterically. Vomit on her car seat. Chunks dripping onto the floor mats.

The smell was overpowering. So was the sound. All of the kids were wailing because it smelled so bad.

”I...I don't know what to say,” said Jon.

More important, he didn't know what to do. He was paralyzed.

I grabbed Alexis and handed her to Jon. ”Use the rain to wash her off.” He started stripping off her clothes. I reached under the seat for the lemon-scented wipes and tried to clean up her car seat. I wanted to take it apart but couldn't because we were hours from home and she still had to ride in it.

Vomit was in every crack and crevice. The kids screamed and gagged. The heat and humidity combined with the putrid smell made me nauseous. We couldn't open the windows because of the rain. I was worried more kids would start throwing up, so I handed them the only thing I had. ”Hold the wipe up to your nose and breathe through it.” I hoped the lemon scent would somehow mask the smell, but if it didn't, at least it would give them something to do.

As Jon stood in the rain, Alexis wearing only a diaper, sniffled in his arms. We were out of outfits, so we wrapped her in a blanket before putting her in her seat. Dripping wet once again, Jon and I got back into the van and looked at each other helplessly.

The kids fell asleep on the way home. I don't know who was more ecstatic to pull into the driveway, Jon or I. Despite all our planning and preparation, we couldn't have predicted the things that went wrong that day.

Had we known before we started, we never would have continued with the trip. But looking back, I am glad we had that experience. In some warped way, that horrendous day at the zoo gave us the confidence to attempt more outings. Though it was one of our worst trips ever, Jon and I agreed that if we could handle that we could handle anything.

By the time July rolled around, we were getting more adventurous. Grandmom turned sixty and we took Cara, Mady, Leah, and Joel to her surprise party. After that we had promised the kids another outing, but it was too hot to take the bus very far. We needed a backup plan or Mady and Cara would be the ones melting down. We needed to go somewhere that didn't cost a lot of money and that we could handle logistically. That place was Chocolate World.

Chocolate World is Hershey's visitor center, and only a fifteen-minute drive from our house. They had shops and a factory tour-the perfect place to take the kids. Jon and I began thinking logistics. We wouldn't be able to take strollers because of the stairs. The babies could walk, but they had a tendency to roam, especially Alexis and Joel. We needed to find another adult to go with us. A phone call later, our friends Karl and Kristen agreed to come along. We made plans to leave our house at 6:00 p.m.

At 5:15, the skies darkened and it looked like rain. We loaded the kids into the bus early, which turned out to be a wise decision. While we waited for Karl and Kristen, it started storming wildly, complete with hail. Jon and the kids looked out the van windows as I prayed we would be safe. From the car, we watched as the lights in the neighborhood flashed and then went out. Without electricity, we couldn't do anything at home, so when Karl and Kristen arrived we proceeded as planned.

I'm so glad we did! The kids had a great time. They were yelling with glee at the talking cows. And because they walked, we didn't draw too much attention (though Jon says he saw people counting). It felt so ”normal” to ride the rides together as a family.

After Chocolate World, we went to an ice cream shop the kids call the Purple Place. This was a big step for an all-natural organic momma whose idea of a sugary treat was an animal cracker! We fed the kids vanilla soft serve. It was so cute to see the little kids saying ”bite-bite” when they wanted more.

By the time we got home three and a half hours later, the power was still out. Jon grabbed a flashlight and together we gave the kids sponge baths on the dining room table. I washed and pa.s.sed them to Jon who dried and dressed them. The kids were sugared up, so they just chased each other in the dark.